Friday, July 14, 2017

Russia Losing Out to China in Eurasian Economic Community Member States, Academy of Sciences Says

Paul Goble

Staunton, July 14 – According to a study
by the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, “almost all
participants” in the Moscow-initiated Eurasian Economic Community “are rapidly
reorienting their economic activity from Russia to China,” with Chinese trade
with them growing even as Russian trade falls.

“All members of the Eurasian
Economic Community, except Kazakhstan, have a significant negative balance of
trade with China. In Kyrgyzstan, it formers over the last three years 93-95
percent of the total; in Armenia, about a third; and in Belarus, “almost half,”
the report says.

As a result, “in a number of
post-Soviet countries, China hasn’t simply joined the top three major supplies
of goods but already occupies there first place, having displaced Russia” from
that ranking.Moreover, it is
increasingly the most important supplier of industrial equipment and loans and
“is becoming the source of modernization” of these states.

“The role of Russia in this regard
in a number of states is shrinking,” the Institute of Economics experts
says.Moreover, they add, “the practice
of exchange by China of its investments and credits for natural resources and a
share of the market is continuing,” further reducing Russia’s role in those
sectors as well.

Moscow has tried, the economists
say, to insist that cooperation between China and the Eurasian Economic
community be on a bloc-to-bloc basis, “but China considers possible and even
more effective cooperation with each of the members of the union on a bilateral
basis.” That pattern seems certain to continue with China’s silk road
undertakings as well.